Renewable Energy as a Vector for the Strengthening of Technical and Financial Cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean Region: The Case of Morocco

The energy sector plays a key role in the policies of sustainable development and green growth that the Moroccan government has recently adopted and this for several different reasons.

Firstly, the success of the ongoing strategies launched for the improvement of fundamental sectors such as agriculture, fishing, tourism and industry strongly depends on two elements. On the one hand, the government should enlarge energy access, which still remains very limited compared to the developed world and some developing countries.

On the other hand, Morocco should be able to satisfy a national energy demand which is constantly increasing due to its accelerated urbanisation. In 2011, Morocco imported 95,6% of its energy consumption. This almost total dependence on exterior sources of energy has some heavy impacts on the economic and financial stability of the country and it reduces the opportunities for a better socio-economic development, especially in rural areas.

Secondly, the national energy issue is necessarily connected to environmental problems. Recent data reveal that the total energy consumption is covered for around 62% by oil and around 22% by coal. This has some irreversible consequences on the environment, both at a national and an international level. Even though the Moroccan economy scarcely contributes to global greenhouse emissions, its increasing dependence on fossil fuels could reduce the commitment of the country in fighting climate change and global warming.

Thirdly, the limited access to energy is a specific element of Moroccan rural areas and this has negative effects on poverty. In rural areas, sustainability is far from being reached due to the fact that rural communities still make use of traditional forms of biomass, such as wood, as their energy source for cooking and heating. There is a correlation between energy poverty and deforestation.

Fourthly, the energy issue is the primary obstacle to the ambition of the Moroccan government to place the country among the world leaders in the policy of development and implementation of renewable energy technologies. This policy would reduce the dependence of Morocco on energy importations and stimulate local industry development.
Before going on to define the current energy situation of Morocco in more detail, it is worth focusing on the political, economic and social aspects of the country in order to better understand the context in which the Moroccan government decided to undertake some important reforms since the last decade of the 20th century.